acid rainform of precipitation containing a heavy concentration of sulfuric and nitric acids. The term is also commonly applied to snow, sleet, and hail that manifest similar acidification. Such precipitation has become an increasingly serious environmental problem in many areas of North America, Europe, and Asia (see video). Although this form of pollution is most severe in and around large urban and industrial areas, substantial amounts of acid precipitation may be transported great distances.

The process that results in the formation of acid rain generally begins with emissions into the atmosphere of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. These gases are released by automobiles, certain industrial operations (e.g., smelting and refining), and electric power plants that burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil. The gases combine with water vapour in clouds to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When precipitation falls from the clouds, it is highly acidic, having a pH value of about 5.6 or lower. (The term pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration in kilograms per cubic metre. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with lower numbers indicating increased acidity.) At several locations in the eastern United States and western Europe, pH values between 2 and 3 have been recorded. In areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Whiteface Mountain in New York, fog is often 10 or more times as acidic as the local precipitation.

Precipitation and fog of high acidity contaminate lakes and streams; they are particularly harmful to fish and other aquatic life in regions with thin soil and granitic rock, which provide little buffering to acidic inputs. It also has been discovered that aluminum is leached from the soil in regions subjected to such acid precipitation, and that dissolved aluminum seems to be extremely toxic to aquatic organisms. All forms of acid precipitation have been found to damage various kinds of vegetation, including agricultural crops and trees, chiefly by inhibiting nitrogen fixation and leaching nutrients from foliage. In addition, these pollutants can corrode the external surfaces of buildings and other man-made structures; marble structures and statues are especially vulnerable to their damaging effects.

The problem of acid rain has been mainly dealt with in two ways. Adherents to the “cost-sharing” principle believe acid rain is a regional problem that should be dealt with collectively by all countries affected by the problem. Supporters of the “polluter pays” approach highlight the actions and responsibility of the polluter, which they believe should pay for the damages caused by its habits and institutions.

also called acid precipitation or acid depositionprecipitation possessing a pH of about 5.2 or below primarily produced from the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination of NO and NO2) from human activities, mostly the combustion of fossil fuels. In acid-sensitive landscapes, acid deposition can reduce the pH of surface waters and lower biodiversity. It weakens trees and increases their susceptibility to damage from other stressors, such as drought, extreme cold, and pests. In acid-sensitive areas, acid rain also depletes soil of important plant nutrients and buffers, such as calcium and magnesium, and can release aluminum, bound to soil particles and rock, in its toxic dissolved form. Acid rain contributes to the corrosion of surfaces exposed to air pollution and is responsible for the deterioration of limestone and marble buildings and monuments.

The phrase acid rain was first used in 1852 by Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith during his investigation of rainwater chemistry near industrial cities in England and Scotland. The phenomenon became an important part of his book Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology (1872). It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, that acid rain was recognized as a regional environmental issue affecting large areas of western Europe and eastern North America. Acid rain also occurs in Asia and parts of Africa, South America, and Australia. As a global environmental issue, it is frequently overshadowed by climate change. Although the problem of acid rain has been significantly reduced in some areas, it remains an important environmental issue within and downwind from major industrial regions worldwide.

Chemistry of acid deposition

Acid rain is a popular expression for the more scientific term acid deposition, which refers to the many ways in which acidity can move from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface. Acid deposition includes acidic rain as well as other forms of acidic wet deposition—such as snow, sleet, hail, and fog (or cloud water). Acid deposition also includes the dry deposition of acidic particles and gases, which can affect landscapes during dry periods. Thus, acid deposition is capable of affecting landscapes and the living things that reside within them even when precipitation is not occurring.

Acidity is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. The pH scale measures whether a solution is acidic or basic. Substances are considered acidic below a pH of 7, and each unit of pH below 7 is 10 times more acidic, or has 10 times more H+, than the unit above it. For example, rainwater with a pH of 5.0 has a concentration of 10 microequivalents of H+ per litre, whereas rainwater with a pH of 4.0 has a concentration of 100 microequivalents of H+ per litre.

Normal rainwater is weakly acidic because of the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere—a process that produces carbonic acid—and from organic acids generated from biological activity. In addition, volcanic activity can produce sulfuric acid (H2SO4), nitric acid (HNO3), and hydrochloric acid (HCl) depending on the emissions associated with specific volcanoes. Other natural sources of acidification include the production of nitrogen oxides from the conversion of atmospheric molecular nitrogen (N2) by lightning and the conversion of organic nitrogen by wildfires. However, the geographic extent of any given natural source of acidification is small, and in most cases it lowers the pH of precipitation to no more than about 5.2.

Anthropogenic activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and the smelting of metal ores, are the major causes of acid deposition. In the United States, electric utilities produce nearly 70 percent of SO2 and about 20 percent of NOx emissions. Fossil fuels burned by vehicles account for nearly 60 percent of NOx emissions in the United States. In the atmosphere, sulfuric and nitric acids are generated when SO2 and NOx, respectively, react with water. The simplest reactions are:

SO2 + H2O → H2SO4 ←→ H+ + HSO4 ←→ 2H+ + SO42

NO2 + H2O → HNO3 ←→ H+ + NO3

These reactions in the aqueous phase (for example, in cloud water) create wet deposition products. In the gaseous phase they can produce acidic dry deposition. Acid formation can also occur on particles in the atmosphere.

Where fossil fuel consumption is large and emission controls are not in place to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions, acid deposition will occur in areas downwind of emission sources, often hundreds to thousands of kilometres away. In such areas the pH of precipitation can average 4.0 to 4.5 annually, and the pH of individual rain events can sometimes drop below 3.0. In addition, cloud water and fog in polluted areas may be many times more acidic than rain falling over the same region.

Many air pollution and atmospheric deposition problems are intertwined with one another, and these problems are often derived from the same cause, namely the burning of fossil fuels. In addition to acid deposition, NOx emissions along with hydrocarbon emissions are key ingredients in ground-level ozone (photochemical smog) formation, which is one of the most widespread forms of air pollution. The SO2 and NOx emissions can generate fine particulates, which are harmful to human respiratory systems. Coal combustion is the leading source of atmospheric mercury, which also enters ecosystems by wet and dry deposition. (A number of other heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, and various particulates are also products of unregulated fossil fuel combustion.) Acid deposition of nitrogen derived from NOx emissions creates additional environmental problems. For example, many lake, estuarine, and coastal marine systems receive too much nitrogen from atmospheric deposition and terrestrial runoff. This eutrophication (or over-enrichment) causes the overgrowth of plants and algae. When these organisms die and decompose, they deplete the dissolved oxygen supply necessary for most aquatic life in water bodies. Eutrophication is considered to be a major environmental problem in lake, coastal marine, and estuarine ecosystems worldwide.

Ecological effects of acid deposition

Effects on lakes and rivers

The regional effects of acid deposition were first noted in parts of western Europe and eastern North America in the late 1960s and early 1970s when changes in the chemistry of rivers and lakes, often in remote locations, were linked to declines in the health of aquatic organisms such as resident fish populations. Increasing amounts of acid deposition in sensitive areas caused tens of thousands of lakes and streams in Europe and North America to become much more acidic than they had been in previous decades. Acid-sensitive areas are those that are predisposed to acidification because the region’s soils have a low buffering capacity, or low acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC). In addition, acidification can release aluminum bound to soils, which in its dissolved form can be toxic to both plant and animal life. High concentrations of dissolved aluminum released from soils often enter streams and lakes. In conjunction with rising acidity in aquatic environments, aluminum can damage fish gills and thus impair respiration. In the Adirondack Mountain region of New York state, research has shown that the number of fish species drops from five in lakes with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 to only one in lakes with a pH of 4.0 to 4.5. Other organisms are also negatively affected, so that acidified bodies of water lose plant and animal diversity overall.

High acidity, especially from sulfur deposition, can accelerate the conversion of elemental mercury to its deadliest form: methyl mercury, a neurological toxin. This conversion most commonly occurs in wetlands and water-saturated soils where low-oxygen environments provide ideal conditions for the formation of methyl mercury by bacteria. Methyl mercury concentrates in organisms as it moves up the food chain. Small concentrations of methyl mercury present in phytoplankton and zooplankton accumulate in the fat cells of the animals that consume them. Since animals at higher tiers of the food chain must always consume large numbers of organisms from lower ones, the concentrations of methyl mercury in top predators, which often include humans, increase to levels where they could become harmful. The bioaccumulation of methyl mercury in the tissues of fishes is the leading reason for government health advisories that recommend reduced consumption of fish from fresh and marine waters.

In addition, aquatic acidification may be episodic, especially in colder climates. Sulfuric and nitric acid accumulating in a snowpack can leach out rapidly during the initial snowmelt and result in a pulse of acidic meltwater. Such pulses may be much more acidic than any individual snowfall event over the course of a winter, and these events can be deadly to acid-sensitive aquatic organisms throughout the food web.

Effects on forested and mountainous regions

In the 1970s and ’80s, forested areas in central Europe, southern Scandinavia, and eastern North America showed alarming signs of forest dieback and tree mortality. A 1993 survey in 27 European countries revealed air pollution damage or mortality in 23 percent of the 100,000 trees surveyed. It is likely that the dieback was the result of many factors, including acid deposition (e.g., soil acidification and loss of buffering capacity, mobilization of toxic aluminum, direct effects of acid on foliage), exposure to ground-level ozone, possible excess fertilization from the deposition of nitrogen compounds (such as nitrates, ammonium, and ammonia compounds), and general stress caused by a combination of these factors. Once a tree is in a weakened condition, it is more likely to succumb to other environmental stressors such as drought, insect infestation, and infection by pathogens. The areas of forest dieback were often found to be associated with regions with low buffering capacity where damage to aquatic ecosystems due to acid deposition was also occurring.

Acid deposition has been implicated in the alteration of soil chemistry and the decline of several tree species through both direct and indirect means. Poorly buffered soils are particularly susceptible to acidification because they lack significant amounts of base cations, which neutralize acidity. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, which are the base cations that account for most of the acid-neutralizing capacity of soils, are derived from the weathering of rocks and from wet and dry deposition. Some of these base cations (such as calcium and magnesium) are also secondary plant nutrients that are necessary for proper plant growth. The supply of these base cations declines as they neutralize the acids present in wet and dry deposition and are leached from the soils. Thus, a landscape formerly rich in base cations can become acid-sensitive when soil-formation processes are slow and base cations are not replaced through weathering or deposition processes.

Soil acidification can also occur where deposition of ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4+) is high. Ammonia and ammonium deposition leads to the production of H+ (which results in acidification) when these chemicals are converted to nitrate (NO3−) by bacteria in a process called nitrification:

NH3 + O2 → NO2− + 3H+ + 2e−

NO2− + H2O → NO3− + 2H+ + 2e−

The sources of NH3 and NH4+ are largely agricultural activities, especially livestock (chickens, hogs, and cattle) production. In 2007 it was estimated that 84 percent of NH3 emissions in the United States came from the agricultural sector. The evaporation or volatilization of animal wastes releases NH3 into the atmosphere. This process often results in the deposition of ammonia near the emission source. However, NH3 can be converted to particulate ammonium that may be transported and deposited as wet and dry deposition hundreds of kilometres away from the emission source.

Besides negatively altering soil chemistry, acid deposition has been shown to affect some tree species directly. Red spruce (Picea rubens) trees found at higher elevations in the eastern United States are harmed by acids leaching calcium from the cell membranes in their needles, making the needles more susceptible to damage from freezing during winter. The damage is often greatest in mountainous regions, because these areas often receive more acid deposition than lower areas and the winter environment is more extreme. Mountainous regions are subjected to highly acidic cloud and fog water along with other environmental stresses. In addition, red spruce can be damaged by the increased concentration of toxic aluminum in the soil. These processes can reduce nutrient uptake by the tree roots. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) populations are also declining in the northeastern United States and parts of eastern Canada. High soil aluminum and low soil calcium concentrations resulting from acid deposition have been implicated in this decline. Other trees in this region that are negatively affected by acidic deposition include aspen (Populus), birch (Betula), and ash (Fraxinus).

Effects on human-made structures

Acid deposition also affects human-made structures. The most notable effects occur on marble and limestone, which are common building materials found in many historic structures, monuments, and gravestones. Sulfur dioxide, an acid rain precursor, can react directly with limestone in the presence of water to form gypsum, which eventually flakes off or is dissolved by water. In addition, acid rain can dissolve limestone and marble through direct contact.

History

Modern anthropogenic acid deposition began in Europe and eastern North America after World War II, as countries in those areas greatly increased their consumption of fossil fuels. International cooperation to address air pollution and acid deposition began with the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1979 the Geneva Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution created the framework for reducing air pollution and acid deposition in Europe. The convention produced the first legally binding international agreement to reduce air pollution on a broad regional basis. This first agreement has been extended by several protocols since its original inception.

In the United States, reductions in acid deposition stem from the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its amendments in 1990. Work toward developing a Memorandum of Intent between the U.S. and Canada to reduce air pollution and acid deposition began in the 1970s. However, it was not formalized until the Canada–United States Air Quality Agreement in 1991, which placed permanent caps on SO2 emissions and guided the reduction of NOx emissions in both countries. The SO2 emissions in the United States and Canada peaked in the late 1970s, but they have subsequently declined as a result of the adoption of government-mandated air pollution standards. The first phase of emission reductions ordered by the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 was begun in 1995, mainly by the regulation of coal-fired power plant emissions. This development marked the beginning of further significant SO2 reductions in the United States.

NOx emissions in the United States peaked about 1980 and remained relatively stable until the end of the 1990s, when emissions began to decline more substantially because of controls on emissions from power plants and vehicles. NOx emissions have exceeded SO2 emissions since about 1980. Their combined reductions led to a significant drop in acid deposition, as well as sulfate (SO42) and nitrate (NO3) deposition. Ammonia (NH3) and ammonium deposition continue to increase in some parts of the United States, especially in areas with intensive agriculture and livestock production.

As a result of actions and agreements such as those described above, acid deposition in both Europe and eastern North America has been significantly reduced. The longest continuous record of precipitation chemistry in North America is from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, U.S., where H+ concentration in precipitation declined by about 60 percent from the mid-1960s through 2008. This trend was also reflected in data collected at measuring stations located across the eastern United States, which reported a decrease of approximately 40 percent in H+ concentration between 1994 and 2008.

Despite significant reductions in acid deposition, some European and North American ecosystems impaired by acid deposition have been slow to recover. Decades of acid deposition in these sensitive regions have depleted the acid-neutralizing capacity of soils. As a result, these soils are even more susceptable to continued acid deposition, even at reduced levels. Further reductions in NOx and SO2 emissions will be necessary to protect such acid-sensitive ecosystems.

In contrast to Europe and North America, acid deposition is increasing in other parts of the world. For example, Asia has seen a steady increase in emissions of SO2 and NOx, as well as NH3—a phenomenon most apparent in parts of China and India, where coal burning for industrial and electricity production has greatly expanded since about 2000. Ironically, acid deposition has been somewhat limited in eastern Asia because many coal-fired facilities that are unregulated for SO2 and NOx emissions are unregulated for particulate emissions (such as soot and coal ash) as well. Particulates often contain base cations and thus have the potential to neutralize some acidity as it forms in the atmosphere. However, particulates are linked to respiratory ailments and other human health concerns, and such findings have led to their regulation in Europe and North America. It is likely that the regulation of particulates in the atmosphere will increase for human health reasons in eastern Asia too. If SO2 and NOx are not regulated at the same time, a dramatic increase in acid deposition in eastern Asia could result.